<div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">John Petters Traditional Jazz</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:yagiarray@gmail.com">yagiarray@gmail.com</a>></span><br>Date: 17 March 2017 at 15:09<br>Subject: Ragtime Revitsed, Helmsley Arts Centre, Yorks Sat 18th March 7:30pm<br>To: <a href="mailto:marekboym@gmail.com">marekboym@gmail.com</a><br><br><br><u></u>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">Press
Release: Ragtime Revisited @ Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday 18th
March.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">A unique
concert is promised on Saturday (18 March) when John Petters, (“England’s finest
Traditional Jazz Drummer” – The Mississippi Rag USA) an acknowledged expert on
early jazz and ragtime brings invites you to 'Ragtime Revisited' @ Helmsley Arts
Centre..</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri"><span> </span>This exciting concert features<span> </span>piano ‘professor’,<span> </span>Martin Litton, a leading authority on
the hot music of the era.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri"><span> </span>Essentially written for the piano,
Ragtime was the first African American music to be notated and is a close
relative of early New Orleans Jazz.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">It’s most
popular composer, Scott Joplin, regarded himself as a serious musician, with a
Ragtime Ballet and two Operas included in his output.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">In 1899, he
composed the most famous piece, “Maple Leaf Rag”, which influenced many other
pianists and writers.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">“The
Entertainer” followed in 1901 which later enjoyed a huge revival in the 1970s
classic movie, “The Sting”, bringing Ragtime to a new audience.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">Another
Ragtime revival success was George Botsford’s “Black and White Rag”, a million
seller for Winifred Atwell in the ‘50s, which became the iconic theme tune for
BBC TV’s “Pot Black” snooker show in the ‘60s.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">Throughout
the first decade of the last century, Ragtime became the dominant popular music,
with many novelty songs using ‘rag’ or ‘ragtime’ in the title. One of Irving
Berlin’s earliest successes was ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">New Orleans
piano legend, Jelly Roll Morton adapted the style and made it jazzy. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">Martin Litton
has arranged the works of Scott Joplin, Morton<span> </span>and others for the trio of piano,
clarinet and drums.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">Martin Litton
studied piano at the Colchester Institute; after graduating, he joined Harry
Gold's Pieces of Eight, then spent two years with Kenny Ball, touring Russia and
the Middle East.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">Martin's work
with leading British musicians includes recordings with Humphrey Lyttleton,
Wally Fawkes, not to mention backing US stars such as Kenny Davern, Bob Wilbur,
Yank Lawson and Wild Bill Davison.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">Featured in
the show will be virtuoso clarinettist, Richard Exall,<span> </span>a former sideman in the world famous
Chris Barber Band.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">Reviewing the
DVD / CD Box set of Ragtime Revisited, which was recorded to go with the show,
BBC broadcaster, Paul Barnes said, “From one classy sound to another…the bonus,
besides the music, is some extremely learned and well informed notes from Martin
Litton, who’s evidently studied Ragtime as a phenomenon and really knows his
stuff and moreover he plays the piano rather well too!”</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">The show
starts at 7:30pm and admission is only £13.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri"><a href="http://www.helmsleyarts.co.uk/whats-on/ragtime-revisited" target="_blank">http://www.helmsleyarts.co.uk/<wbr>whats-on/ragtime-revisited</a></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">or call the
box office: 01439 771700</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri">See a 10
minute promotional video on YouTube here:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 10pt"><font face="Calibri"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euQaMe6G2uo" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=euQaMe6G2uo</a></font></p>
<p>Order the CD / DVD box set on line here: <a href="http://www.traditional-jazz.com/mainpages/popup/1037.htm" target="_blank">http://www.traditional-jazz.<wbr>com/mainpages/popup/1037.htm</a></p>
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